ScottishConsultation:WildMammalAct2002

Scotland's Consultation of the Protection of Wild Mammal Act 2002

In 2015, Scotland's First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon announced her government would hold a review of the Protection of Wild Mammals Act 2002. In December, it was confirmed that the review would be led by Lord Bonomy with a consultation process starting in February and finishing by the end of March.

As part of the Team Fox coalition of wildlife groups, The Save Me Trust agreed to submit to the consultation, working closely in conjunction with the League Against Cruel Sports (Scotland) and a wide range of local groups based in Scotland who have detailed information on the antics of Scottish hunt packs.

Our submission suggested three main changes to the current act. They are:

1. Reduce the number of dogs allowed to ‘flush to guns’ to a maximum of two.

2. Introduce a “recklessness” clause to the Act. This would stop Scottish hunts adopting ‘Trail Hunting’ which is viewed by Hunts in England and Wales as a short term solution to keep the infrastructure of Hunts intact, whilst they seek repeal of the English & Welsh Hunting Act.

3. Introduce a vicarious liability clause to the Act. Scotland has taken the lead on the introduction of this, in respect of the protection of raptors and we believe that extending the clause to include wild mammals would reduce the possibilities of illegal hunting immediately. Landowners will seriously consider their responsibilities and the hunts previous conduct before granting access to their land. We further believe that many private estates do not benefit or support hunting but allow it to continue as it is the line of least resistance. Landowners should have the support of the law to stop any illegal hunting on their land whilst accepting their culpability should they allow a hunt do so illegally.

It is our strong belief that the introduction of the three clauses above would have an immediate and devastating impact for those who wish to hunt illegally with hounds. We further believe that Scotland led the UK with the introduction of the protection of Wild Mammal Act 2002 and the timely review of the operation of the act will provide the opportunity to again lead whilst demonstrating to England and Wales that the overwhelming majority of the British public (84% in the LACS Poll of December 2015) want to see hunting of wild mammals with dogs banned completely throughout the UK.

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Dofoxeshuntinpacks

No, they don't. Unlike wolves, foxes are solitary hunters which means that even if in some areas they may form groups, they hunt for food on their own. Fox cubs may sometimes be seen playing together with bits of food but this is simply a 'game' and adult foxes have never been reported hunting together.

Very occasionally cubs can be seen hunting with the vixen.

Dofoxesposeahealthriskinmygarden

There is no known case of people catching diseases from foxes or their droppings in Britain: you are vastly more likely to catch an infection from your pet cat or dog.

FamilyLife

Most people that have seen a fox have probably met just one animal on its own. Indeed since foxes travel and hunt on their own, they are said to be solitary animals. This is not to say that they avoid other foxes but to exemplify the fact they do not hunt in packs like some other canids, such as wolves. For a long time it was believed that foxes lived a solitary life, meeting only during the mating season, but now we know that this is untrue.

The dominant male and female fox form a pair that may last for life, i.e. foxes are generally monogamous. The pair travel, hunt and feed independently but occasionally meet, either briefly or for longer periods during which they play or groom each other. In some areas, such as in urban areas, it is common for some other adult foxes to be present in addition to the breeding pair. These additional animals (sometimes called helpers) are subordinate to the dominant pair and generally are offspring of the pair, which remained with their parents past the normal age of dispersal when the family should break up. So, in certain conditions, foxes live in social groups rather than solitarily.

Foxes are territorial animals, i.e. they defend the area where they live against other foxes. That said, the use of scent marking to delimit their own space is a very effective way of communication and neighbours normally avoid meeting each other. If neighbours do meet, these encounters are generally benign, avoiding direct fights. Foxes are more aggressive towards strangers rather than other neighbouring foxes. Because of this territorial behaviour, if a fox is removed for a length of time from its territory, another fox will move in. This means that eliminating one animal from an area does not eliminate the presence of foxes altogether. On the other hand, foxes can easily be excluded from certain areas using non-lethal control methods.

Willfoxesattackmydogorcat

This is extremely unlikely. Foxes avoid dogs, even small dogs, because many foxes are killed by dogs. So it is much more likely that your dog will attack the fox, not the other way round. Attacks on cats are equally rare: cats and foxes are roughly the same size, and cats are very capable of defending themselves against foxes. So it is hardly surprising that foxes generally give cats a wide berth and flee when threatened by a cat.

Occasionally small kittens are killed, but this is extremely rare. Keeping your cat indoors at night greatly reduces the chances of an encounter with a fox. There are also a variety of other benefits: cats kept in at night are healthier and live longer, and kill less of the local wildlife.

There are many cats and foxes in the UK and it is very rare to lose a cat to a fox. Cats kill cats and cats can be run over, foxes will eat a dead cat as they are the bin men of the wild and clear up carrion.

Foxes&Children

In June 1973 The Sunday Times carried an article warning about the threats posed by urban foxes. However the evidence is that no child in Britain has been killed or severely injured in the 80 years since foxes colonised our cities. There are occasional relatively minor incidents involving foxes and children, invariably described in the press as an "attack", although it is very unlikely that a fox deliberately seeks out a child to attack it. In contrast, every year children are severely injured, maimed, and killed by dogs, very often their own pets and not just the larger or more dangerous breeds. The risk posed by dogs vastly outweighs the risk posed by foxes.

DangerousDogs

256,000 people were bitten by dogs last year over 6,000 people were actually hospitalised by dog bites. We don't call for a cull every time a dog bites so why kill wildlife. It's sad that some media feel a need to vilify the fox. They are not a threat to humans.

NHS and Dog attacks- Animal bites (such as dog bites) and human bites are a relatively common type of injury. In most cases, the wound that results from an animal bite is minor and can be treated with simple first aid.

Daily Mail article on Dog attacks- Dog bite cases in casualty departments topped 6,000 for the first time this year, they show.The fast-growing medical caseload caused largely by out-of-control dogs was disclosed in NHS data at a time of deepening concern over the injuries caused by dangerous dogs. READ MORE

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